Ah . . . It’s good to be back! It has been a while since The Ink Blog has seen a post. We had some other projects going on that detracted from our ability to provide our insight in to the world of printer ink. Hope you didn’t miss us too much.

Anyway, let’s kick it off with some Lexmark news.

In another attempt to revitalize their sagging sales Lexmark launched a new program that will award customers with free printer cartridges. There really was not much of a sigh of relief from Lexmark printer users when this announcement hit. Those folks are still reeling from the high cost of their inkjet printer or laser printer (See: Lexmark Profits Down) and the fact that they still have to buy five ink cartridges within a 12 month period before they get one for free.

Here are the details of the program:

Customers must purchase five printer cartridges within a 12 month period. After doing so, Lexmark awards the customer with one free ink cartridge. Lexmark states that ‘most” of their cartridges are part of the program. In addition to earning a free cartridge by buying cartridges, Lexmark will also award you with a free cartridge when you send them five empty printer cartridges during a 12 month period. So, in total you could be awarded with 2 free cartridges a year. And, cartridges must be purchased from Lexmarkstore.com to be counted.

Lexmark hopes this customer based program can help stimulate sales of their printer cartridges. Only problem is . . . If you don’t have many printers in the market you can’t sell to many printer cartridges. Pacific Ink has seen the sales of Lexmark replacement cartridges slow over the past year, just as they have cut back on the number of new printer models they are releasing.

So, as everyone should, we applaud Lexmark for recycling cartridges. As for their free cartridge reward plan, we’ll wait and see what happens. None of their recent endeavors have been strong enough to put them back in the black. But, we have a suggestion. Be like HP, Canon, and Epson - release a ton of new printers every quarter!

What do you think of Lexmark’s plan? Let us know what you think.

This week we are taking a look at the Lexmark Z735 inkjet printer. It has been a while since we have reviewed a Lexmark printer, mostly because they have not been flooding the market with an overwhelming number or printers, as the other manufacturers do.At the end of 2006 they decided they were going to cut back on their printer releases. It is definitely showing in terms of the number of new Lexmark printers we can find, as well as the number of customers calling in looking for Lexmark ink cartridges.

The whole cut back points to some financial Lexmark is having, but that is a whole different post. We’re here to talk about the Lexmark Z735 printer.

First and foremost, this is a CHEAP printer. You should expect to pay between $25 and $40 for this printer. Amazon.com currently (as of this post date) the Lexmark Z735 for $28.99, and is offering free shipping. Other sites with lesser prices require you to pay shipping, so this is a great deal.

The Z735 offers 4800 x 1200 max dpi print resolution in high quality print mode, and can produce photo-quality pictures. It prints 4″ x 6″ borderless photos in as fast as 38 seconds (in the econo-mode). Why anyone would print a photo in econo-mode is beyond me. It seems a little strange that Lexmark would their claim to speed in this way. Thirty-eight seconds is slow as it is! Black text prints come at a rate of 15 pages per minute, color at 5 pages per minute.

This printer is small in size, to go along with its small price tag. So, if in addition to a small price tag you are looking for a space saving printer, this one only takes up 1 square foot of space.

The Z735 uses the Lexmark #1 cartridge. Lexmark advertises this as the ultimate cartridge. One single cartridge that contains all the ink you need. It is basically contains color ink, and when you need black all the colors mix to make the black. Sounds like a good deal, but Epson and Canon would tell you that it is not. When you run out of one of the colors you have to replace the entire cartridge, despite the fact that you may still have plenty of the other colors. Oh, the hazards of the multi color cartridge!

You can expect to pay $23 - $24 for the Lexmark manufactured #1 (also know as 18C0781) cartridge. Pacific Ink.com offers a remanufactured version of this cartridge for only $19.49. You can also purchase an ink cartridge refill kit ($17.49), or take advantage of our cartridge recycling service ($17.49). Fortunately, less expensive and more environmentally friendly alternatives exist.

Bottom line on this printer is you get what you pay for. Folks really like the price, but expected a lot more from the printer. It was made for those who don’t print all that much, and when they do print do a limited amount of printing in color. Take our advice, if you are in to photo printing, or are considering getting in to photo printing, don’t buy this printer. Spend a little more right away. You will be far happier.

If you own this printer, let Pacific Ink know what you think. If you don’t, but still want to voice your opinion, you can do that here too.

Lexmark has lost again (kind of). In a previous post we talked about Lexmark filing a lawsuit agains Static Control Components. Well, a federal jury in Frankfort, KY decided against Lexmark last Friday.

The jury decided that patents were not violated by Static Control, a company that makes parts that enable the remanufacturing, or recycling, or Lexmark’s toner cartridges. The jury decision was unanimous in stating that Static Control did not violate any copyright laws when they created a micro chip and then sold that chip to those recycling toner cartridges.

The jury’s decision is not the final verdict, but more a reccomendation to the judge. The judge will make the final decision in just under 30 days from now.

If you have any opions on Lexmark, or Static’s, actions let us know.

Lexmark is at it again! This week they filed lawsuits against ink cartridge refillers who they claim have been cutting in to their profits for years.

Lexmark is after North Carolina based Static Control again because they want static control to stop competing for their remanufactured cartridge business. Lexmark v Static Control started back in 2005 and focused up Lexmark’s Smart Chip technology. Now we are back for round 2 with Lexmark claiming Static Control has violated copyright law.

Lexmark claims that of the 10 million toner cartridges it shipped last year cartridge remanufacturers took away 27% (about 2.7 million) of the empties for remanufacturing for reselling. This could be worth as much as $200 million.

One good lawsuit deserves another, so Static Control has filed a law suit of its own. Static Control has accused Lexmark of monopolizing the toner cartridge market and falsely representing their products.

More to come . . .

What do you think about this? Sounds like a “deep pocket” approach to me.

Back in late April Lexmark announced that their quarterly profits were below their estimated target. This in turn caused their stock share prices to drop. We could go on for a while about the stock market and the relationship between missing your target earnings and plummeting stock prices, but that is probably a topic for a completely different blog.

Instead we will discuss what Lexmark decided to do about the problem. At the time they made the announcement they said that a part of the problem was a decline in inkjet and laser printer sales (inkjet sales were down by 10% while laser were down by 6%). They also said that sales of supplies — printer cartridges — was flat.

In 2006 Lexmark presented a plan that would reduce the sales of unprofitable inkjet and laser printers. Such a plan is the complete opposite of plans used by HP, Canon, Dell, and just about every other printer manufacturer out there. We are not fully aware of the level of profitability these other companies have on printers they sell, but we do know that they depend more on the sale of the cartridges that go in those printers to make the real money.

This move by Lexmark would seem to be a form of suicide. Reducing sales means reducing the number of printers in the market place and thus reducing the number of printers in homes and offices. Bottom line is then that the number of printer cartridges sold for these printers would decrease.

Now we see the results of their plan. Declining printer sales, flat printer cartridge sales, earnings below target.

Hopefully Lexmark can find its way out of this. We just found it strange that they presented a plan that would have them sell less printers (and therefore less printer cartridges), like their competitors. Or, a plan that would have been more like the one Kodak is deploying (more expensive printers and lower priced ink).

Pacific Ink wants to know what do you think?

Here are some tidbits from a Q&A between Lexmark executives and financial analysts.

The purpose of the conversation was to discuss company earnings. Executives also discussed future plans to help bring earnings back up — They have been a little low by shareholder standards as of late. Here are some topics covered.

Cartridge Return Program:
Lexmark recently expanded its cartridge return program (or Prebate program). The program, they claim, will offer more choices to consumers. It offers an immediate $4 discount on cartridges you are purchasing if you agree to send them back when they run out of ink. This is Lexmark’s attempt to prevent customers from getting their empty cartridges refilled elsewhere, or recycling them elsewhere. As a safeguard these cartridges come with a chip that will not allow the cartridge to print if it has been refilled rather than returned to Lexmark. Pretty sneaky, Lexmark!

Lexmark also mentioned the possibility of a two tiered cartridge pricing program. This is something they currently do with their laser toner cartridges. Customers have the choice of buying the more expensive “new” cartridge, or a lesser priced remanufactured cartridge that has been remanufactured from cartridges that have been returned through the return program.

Memjet Technology:
When asked about the new Memjet Printer Lexmark executives played down the technology and said they did not see such technology impacting their sales. They gave two reasons:

• The Memjet technology has yet to be commercialized, meaning it has not been prepared to be made available to the general public. Silverbrook Research, the maker of the Memjet, has not released any sort of time line as to when this might happen.
• Lexmark estimates that Memjet printers will be expensive, and not compete in the price category as Lexark does.

Interesting stuff.

On Tuesday Lexmark introduced a new line of wireless inkjet printers. They plan to release these printers during April, May, and June of 2007.

Eight of Lexmark’s 12 new printer models will have wireless capabilities. These new models also include the new four-in-one, three-in-one, and single function printers. The wireless printers will be compatible with 802.11b/g wireless protocols and will also feature Lexmark’s exclusive Protection Guarantee (next-business day replacement for up to 1 year). Here is a quick run down of what they are releasing.

Lexmark X4550 Wireless All-in-One:
A compact printer featuring integrated wireless printing, USB 2.0 connectivity, printing speeds at up to 26 ppm (black) and 18 ppm (color), and 4800×1200 dpi resolution. In addition it prints borderless photos with or without your printer from memory card slots, USB flash drives, or from PictBridge compatible digital cameras. The X4550 also offers one touch color copying at speeds up to 17 ppm (black) and 11 ppm (color). It also has a 48-bit color flatbed scanner. Cost is expected to be around $130.

Lexmark Z1420:
Features a small footprint for easy placement in your home or office the Z1420 is a single function six color printer that prints up to 24 ppm (black) and 18 ppm (color). Users can print borderless photos up to 8.5×11 inches. It is expected to cost around $80.

Lexmark X3550 Color All-in-One:
The X3550 also offers wireless functions and fast print speeds (24 ppm black and 17 ppm color). It also features one touch copy/scan and photo printing options. The 48 bit flatbed scanner allows users to scan black photo proof sheets for quick and easy photo prints. It, as the X4550, can print borderless photos with our without a computer. It is expected to cost around $80.

Lexmark will also be offering some “Budget” printers in the fall. These entry level printers are designed for students and other cost conscious printer users. The Lexmark X2500 Color All-in-One and the Lexmark Z1300 Single-Function Inkjet Printer will both offer advanced printhead technology and Lexmark’s vibrant evercolor inks. The X2500 will cost $60 while the Z1300 will cost $25.

There has been no word yet as to what printer cartridges these printers will use.

Way back in the late 1990’s, Kodak and Lexmark used to be buddies. Lexmark made photo printers that had Kodak’s name on them and all was fine and dandy. Well, it turns out that partnership amounted to a whole lot of nothing and they stopped making printers together.

Now, with Kodak’s announcement that they will be selling really cheap ink cartridges, they have become Lexmark’s arch enemy. Lexmark’s spokesman said “there is nothing revolutionary in the Kodak announcement.” That sounds kind of petty considering Kodak announced they would be selling something at half the price that everyone sells it at. If that doesn’t qualify as a least a little revolutionary, then I don’t know what does. It’s not like Lexmark’s been blowing our socks off lately with their announcements.

Lexmark is mad because they have the most to lose. Kodak is focused on selling all-in-one machines, which is the area that Lexmark has decided to focus on lately. Lexmark hasn’t been doing too hot lately and they will always be behind HP, Canon and Epson in terms of market share and quality. So they are afraid that if someone goes into a store and has to chose between a Lexmark and a Kodak, they will chose a Kodak, even if it is a little more expensive. Lexmark claims that Kodak is just ripping you off with a “prepaid” model where customers “pay a substantial premium and put more money in their pocket more quickly whether you use more ink or not.” It’s true that the Kodak printers will cost a little bit more, but not substantially more. Unless you plan on junking the printer after one set of ink cartridges (which, by the way, some people do with Lexmark printers because the ink is so expensive) you will definitely save with a Kodak printer in the long run. Of course, all this is assuming that the discounted Kodak cartridges will be equal in size and quality to cartridges from the other main printer manufacturers. We shall see.

Lexmark, Kodak aren’t so cozy now [Kentucky.com]

Since compact/portable/snapshot photo printers seem to be growing in popularity, people are probably beginning to wonder what the best model is. Up until recently, there wasn’t a huge selection of models and out of those, there really wasn’t any model that was declared the best by the public. The reviews and reactions to the models out there mostly fell in line with what you’d expect based on the manufacturer: Epson made good stuff, HP made pretty good stuff, Canon made good stuff in limited quantities and Lexmark basically made junk.

We haven’t really received a lot of feedback from our customers/readers as to what they think about certain compact photo printers, so I’ll just take a look at what’s availble out the Net.

- the top three compact photo printers according to CNET are the HP Photosmart 475, the Epson PictureMate Flash 280 and the Epson PictureMate Snap

- the top three selling compact photo printers on Amazon are the Canon iP90, the Canon SELPHY DS810 Photo Printer and the Epson PictureMate Deluxe

- this thing on about.com says that the top three are Canon i70/i80/i90, the HP Photosmart 375 and the Epson PictureMate Personal

Overall, it seems like the Epson PictureMate series has been rated pretty well by both professional reviewers and customers (all but the PictureMate Pal, which is an entry-level model that isn’t worth the small savings). Like most of their inkjet printers, HP compact photo printers perform pretty well but are never the best available. It seems like it’s a good idea to stay away from Kodak printers, just because I’ve only seen one get a good review and then most others get only decent reviews. It’s really not worth it to get a Kodak because you have so many other reliable options like Canon and Epson available. Plus, since some of these printers use their own ink/paper and not standard ink cartridges, you don’t want to be hunting around for some weird Kodak products that aren’t sold anywhere.

Lexmark announced today that their earnings had increased slightly over last year, but not enough to make their stock go up. Lexmark has been suffering lately due to HP’s continued dominance and their own continued stinkiness.

In the past year they have cut 20% of their inkjet sales in order to get rid of sales that weren’t generating long-term profits for them. The sales that they cut out were bundled sales, meaning deals where they gave away a printer with a computer. Those deals used to be all the rage, but a lot of people wised up to them and they don’t seem to be as popular as they once were. Since Lexmark doesn’t make their own computers, they don’t have the advantage that HP has where they can bombard people with bundles everywhere they go. Lexmark has to rely on the printers that they sell to Dell in order to sell any bundles, and by doing that they lose any value from ink cartridges purchased down the road.

Lexmark said that “consumers fail to buy enough ink cartridges and supplies over the products’ lifetimes to offset low profit margins on the initial piece of hardware”. Well, the reason for that is probably that Lexmark printers, especially those you get for free, are junk and they won’t last a few years. If someone’s Lexmark inkjet breaks, they probably aren’t going to be buying a whole lot of ink for it. Also, Lexmark (along with Dell) leads the way in “most negative responses to ink prices” when people go to buy their first set of cartridges. We have heard from lots of people who got a Lexmark inkjet for free/very little who immediately abandon the printer once they see the $40 cartridges.

Apparently Lexmark decided to focus on all-in-one printers and color laser printers, two things they really haven’t been known for the in the past but two areas where the most profits are found. So don’t hold your breath waiting for that free Lexmark bundled with your shiny new computer.

Lexmark working hard to right itself [Kentucky.com]